Elon Musk says he has faith in China’s ability to develop AI

US billionaire Elon Musk said he has confidence in China’s capabilities in artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, but did not address the impact of Washington’s semiconductor export restrictions that have hobbled China’s ability to develop AI.

“I think, really, China is going to be great at anything it puts its mind into. That includes many different sectors – sectors of the economy, but also artificial intelligence,” Musk, the founder of Tesla and SpaceX, told the World AI Conference (WAIC), an annual event hosted by Chinese authorities to showcase Beijing’s ambitions in the technology, via video.

Musk did not directly mention US export restrictions in his remarks, which were delivered via an eight-minute video shown at the WAIC on Thursday.

Musk’s show of support comes at a time when the US government is reportedly considering further restrictions on China’s access to US semiconductors and cloud computing services, which could cripple the country’s AI development. Separately, the Biden administration is also working on a plan to limit US investments into Chinese AI, Paul Rosen, a US Treasury official, told a hearing in May.

Musk has maintained a good relationship with the Chinese government. During a visit to China in May, he was received by a number of senior Chinese officials, including foreign minister Qin Gang. Musk’s opposition to “decoupling” between the world’s two biggest economies, which were included in an official Chinese statement, echoed Beijing’s long-standing stance and were widely picked up in China.

In his video speech on Thursday, Musk talked about robots and autonomous driving. “As time goes by, it seems like, it may, at some point, exceed one to one ratio, in more robots than humans, and potentially much greater,” Musk said. “It’s a very profound change and I think we need to be careful about it to make sure it is something that benefits humanity.”